Monday, 27 July 2026, 23:46
On July 17, 2026, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) hearing board unanimously voted to grant Sable Offshore Corp. a 90-day variance, temporarily exempting the Houston-based oil company from meeting air pollution limits at its Platform Heritage, located off the Santa Barbara coast. The decision, made during a rehearing prompted by an appeal from the Center for Biological Diversity after the original hearing on June 25, allows Sable to continue operations despite exceeding permitted flaring emissions. The original five-day variance granted on June 25 was appealed by the Center for Biological Diversity, requiring the application to be reheard by the full hearing board on July 17.
Sable exceeded its 90-day permit limit of 1 ton of unplanned flaring by 0.04 tons on May 22, 2026. Flaring—burning excess natural gas during oil extraction—occurred due to what Sable described as conditions beyond its reasonable control, including equipment malfunctions, production balancing issues, and well production issues. Flaring may occur because of equipment constraints, limited pipeline capacity, safety concerns, operational issues, or market conditions. Senior Vice President Trent Fontenot testified that restarting long-idled Platform Heritage on March 31, 2026, led to temporary flaring as wells were brought back online. Restarting long-idled offshore production can result in temporary flaring as wells are brought back online and associated natural gas production stabilizes as a re-pressurized well releases associated gas. Sable argued that immediate compliance would force a shutdown, releasing more pollutants and costing $1.75 million in daily revenue. Fontenot presented six findings to the hearing board explaining why Sable was petitioning for another variance, including that compliance would cause a shutdown and that the conditions were beyond Sable's control. Sable also stated that the natural gas cannot be injected back into the oil well at Platform Heritage. In its petition, Sable argued that compliance with the air quality rules would be unreasonable, and that meeting the emissions limits immediately would require additional operational work, including shutting down production and the related planned flaring to depressurize the wells. Sable also contends that halting oil production at the platform would “not necessarily reduce the volume of flaring,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity appeal.
Environmental groups strongly opposed the variance. The CBD noted that Sable’s onshore facilities previously contributed 55% of Santa Barbara County’s greenhouse gas emissions and were major sources of VOCs, particulate matter, and formaldehyde—linked to cancer and respiratory diseases. Since Santa Barbara County is a non-attainment area for air quality standards, these emissions pose heightened risks. Maureen Ellenberger, president of Sierra Club’s Santa Barbara-Ventura chapter, accused the board of being a “rubber stamp” for Sable’s claims, noting that the findings in the draft variance simply repeated Sable's claims word for word. Public commenters called Sable a “lawless, criminal organization” for repeatedly operating on variances. Brooke Balthaser, a community organizer with Climate First: Replacing Oil and Gas, questioned why the board would care about Sable's loss of revenue, stating, “The public is not concerned with Sable’s profit margins. We’re concerned if the air we’re breathing is safe or not.” Goleta resident Bill Woodbridge expressed fury, noting that Sable has continued to operate without a permit from the county and has received 11 previous variances. The Center for Biological Diversity contends that Sable failed to show how any of these compliance efforts would be considered unreasonable.
This variance affects residents of Santa Barbara County, including the community of Las Flores, which is near the Las Flores Pipeline System. That pipeline, owned by Sable, ruptured in 2015, spilling 100,000 gallons of crude oil in the Refugio oil spill, killing wildlife and closing beaches. In 2025, Sable faced five felony counts for discharging pollutants into local waterways, and the Santa Barbara Superior Court blocked a pipeline restart due to lack of environmental review. The company has also been fined $18 million by the California Coastal Commission.
Platform Heritage was shut down after the 2015 Refugio spill and restarted in March 2026. Since then, Sable has received 12 emergency variances from APCD, including three for Platform Harmony, one for Platform Heritage, one for Platform Hondo, five for Las Flores Canyon, and one for the associated gas plant. The company is also reportedly seeking federal eminent domain to seize private land for pipeline operations, a move environmentalists call an “outrageous abuse of power.”
The APCD’s decision allows Sable to continue oil production for another 90 days without full air pollution compliance, but the company faces ongoing legal battles and public scrutiny. As environmental groups vow to fight further, the balance between economic interests and environmental protection remains tense in Santa Barbara County. Hearing board member Robert Saperstein stated that Sable did everything it could to comply, and that shutting down the facility would be a “monstrous ordeal,” leaving the board with no choice but to grant the variance.
